Governing Nigeria: Does The Economy Trump Politics? No, It Doesn’t!

 By Olu Fasan

It is the age-old chicken and egg question. Which comes first: the economy or politics? That’s the question at the heart of this intervention, and it was triggered by two recent events. The first was President Bola Tinubu’s response to the call for a new Constitution. The second was Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s speech at this year’s Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in which she called for a social contract for Nigeria. Everyone knew about those events, but few detected their logical fallacies. So, first, let’s recall the events.

Recently, in August, the highly venerated elder statesman Chief Emeka Anyaoku led a group of eminent Nigerians under the aegis of The Patriots to meet Tinubu at the State House and asked him to convene a constituent assembly to produce a draft people’s constitution for Nigeria.

Appeal To Patriotism: Nigeria’s Future Must Not Be Left To Politicians

 By Olu Fasan

There is no shortage of talent in Nigeria. Yet, the country is so badly governed. Why? The answer is two-fold. First, the Constitution allows predatory politicians to gain power without a popular mandate and to capture the entire public realm. Second, Nigeria lacks a critical mass of patriots who can mount an effective rearguard action against bad governance. 

*Tinubu 

Take the first. Nigeria’s Constitution does not require a government of, by and for the people. Rather, it allows any self-interested politician to win a narrow victory through wedge issues and allows a determined government to do what it will without let or hindrance. 

#Obidatti23 Rally: Who Is Afraid Of Lekki Toll Gate?

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

On Wednesday, September 28, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officially blew the whistle for the commencement of the 2023 election campaigns. With the Presidential and National Assembly elections holding on February 25, 2023, that will be a grueling 150 days of politicians crisscrossing this vast country, soliciting for votes.

It promises to be five months of drama when the hoi-polloi will have their day in the sun. The elections will be consequential. Nigerians, this time around, seem to be conscious of what is at stake – the soul of their country, that beautiful damsel that has been serially and unconscionably raped by pretentious, maniacal suitors.

Obiano, Soludo And Anambra State

By Chuks Iloegbunam

Chukwuma Charles Soludo was the guest lecturer in Awka during the 3rd Anniversary of the inception of the Willie Obiano Administration. The renowned economist’s magisterial presentation was laced with numerous economic, political and social nuggets, all of which boiled down to his unequivocal endorsement of Governor Willie Obiano for a second term of office. His views make sustained interrogation imperative. But, some background information is apposite.

*Soludo and Gov Obiano

Professor Soludo is far from the first Anambra personage to endorse Governor Obiano’s bid for a second tenure as Governor of Anambra State. The impressive list contains such names as Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the first civilian governor of the new Anambra State; Dame Virgy Etiaba, a former Governor of Anambra State, and Chief Emeka Sibeudu, who was Deputy Governor to Mr. Peter Obi. Others include Senators Ben Ndi Obi, Annie Okonkwo and Emma Anosike, none of whom is of Governor Obiano’s ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), as well as Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the former Nigerian Education Minister. Elder statesmen like Chief Alex Ekwueme, a former Vice-President of Nigeria, and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, have equally thrown their lot with Governor Obiano. Non-politicians like Dr. Cosmas Maduka, the versatile industrialist, and Chief Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Car manufacturers have equally given Governor Obiano the thumbs up.

Indeed, the support for an Obiano second term is gradually becoming a movement. It has gone beyond personalities and attracted the remarkable attention of groups that cut across socio-political, religious, and professional divides. In this category are to be found the Anambra North Peoples Assembly (ANPA); the Old Aguata Union (OAU); the Federation of Old Nnewi Division (FOND); the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) and the Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, (ASMATA.) Yet, that is not all because the Anambra state branches of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC); the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council; the Traditional Prime Ministers Council, the Anambra state branch of Southeast Women of Substance and the United Anambra Youths Assembly have equally endorsed Governor Obiano to continue with his exemplary leadership.

All the endorsements are held by one powerful bond – the fact that Governor Willie Obiano has acquitted himself creditably in the onerous responsibility of directing the affairs of Anambra State. In unison they sing the joyous song of his achievements: Obiano has made Anambra the safest state in the country. He has transformed the Awka capital territory from a provincial enclave to a worthy state capital. He has revolutionized agriculture, making Anambra a rice-producing state of note and a leader in dairy farming. He has sustained the prompt and regular payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions. He has displayed an uncommon sense of empathy for the sensibilities and sensitivities of Ndi Anambra. For these and many other reasons, they have taken the attitude that a second term is the appropriate reward for Obiano’s services to his people.

2011 Achebe Colloquium On Africa: Schedule Of Activities

 Schedule

All Panels Will Take Place In The Martinos Auditorium Of The Perry And Marty Granoff Center For The Creative Arts...

Participants Subject To Change

Saturday, December 3, 2011

8:30 am – 9:00 am
Welcome
Ruth Simmons, President, Brown University

Opening Address
Emeka Anyaoku, Chief, Former Secretary General of British Commonwealth

9:00 am – 10:15 am
The Arab Spring: Challenges to Democratization and Nation Building
·         MODERATOR: Peter M. Lewis, Associate Professor and Director of Africana Studies Program, Johns Hopkins University
·         Daniel Serwer, The Center for Transatlantic Relations, American Consortium on European Union Studies, EU Center of Excellence, Johns Hopkins University
·         Abdelwahab El-Affendi, Coordinator, Democracy and Islam Programme Centre for the Study of Democracy; University of Westminster
·         Chibli Mallat, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Visiting Professor of Islamic Legal Studies, Harvard Law School
·         Richard Joseph, John Evans Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
·         Ali Mazrui, Director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University




 10:30 am – 11:45am
Arab Spring 2011: Prognosticators Roundtable

·         MODERATOR: Darren Kew, Associate Professor, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance; Executive Director of the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development, University of Massachusetts

·         Emmad Shahin, Henry R. Luce Associate Professor of Religion, University of Notre Dame

·         Lina Khatib, Program Manager for the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, Stanford University

·         Tarek Masoud, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University

·         Stuart Krusell, Associate Director, Office of External Relations, MIT

12:45pm – 1:15 pm

Keynote Address

Ali Suleiman Aujali, Libyan Ambassador to the United States

1:30 pm–3:00 pm

Darfur: Towards Sustainable Peace

·         MODERATOR: Lina M. Fruzzetti, Royce Family Professor in Teaching Excellence and Professor of Anthropology, Brown University

·         Alex de Waal, Program Director, HIV/AIDS and Social Transformation, Social Science Research Council

·         Ali B. Dinar, Associate Director, The African Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania

·         Eddie Thomas, Fellow, The Rift Valley Institute

·         Christa Capozzola, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID

·         Ryan Spencer Reed, Photographer

  

3:15 pm – 4:45 pm

Southern Sudan: Obstacles Facing the World’s Newest Nation

·         MODERATOR: Roger Middleton, Chatham House

·         Thomas Kwasi Tieku, Director, African Studies, University of Toronto

·         Lant Pritchett, Professor of Economic Development, Harvard University

·         Jehanne Henry, Senior Researcher for Sudan and South Sudan, Human Rights Watch

·         Rebecca Hamilton, Journalist and Author, Pulitzer Center

·         Eric Reeves, Smith College

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Keynote Address

John Schram, Former Canadian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Angola, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Sudan; High Commissioner to Ghana and Sierra Leone; Distinguished Senior Fellow, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Senior Fellow, Centre for International Relations, Queen’s University

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Literature and the Spoken Word

* This event will take place in the George Houston Bass Performing Arts Space in Churchill House located at

155 Angell Street

·         MODERATOR: Raphael d’Abdon

·         Twin Poets

·         Titillate Sonuga

·         Offiong Bassey  

Presiding: Nduka Otiono, Postdoctoral Fellow, Africana Studies, Brown University

Sunday, December 4, 2011

8:30 am – 9:00 am

Welcome

Corey D. B. Walker, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Africana Studies, Brown University

Opening Address

Chinua Achebe, David and Marianna Fisher University Professor of Africana Studies, Brown University

9:00 am – 10:15 am

China and the United States in Africa: Cooperation or Confrontation?

·      MODERATOR: Olakunle George, Associate Professor of English and Africana Studies, Brown University

·      Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Harvard University; President, World Peace Foundation 

·      Walter Carrington, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria

·      James J. Hentz, Head of Department and Professor of International Studies & Political Science, Virginia Military Institute

·      Scott D. Taylor, Director of African Studies, Georgetown University

·      Omer Ismail, Senior Policy Advisor, The Enough! Project

·      Deborah Brautigam, School of International Service, American University

10:30 am – 11:45 am 

China’s Presence in Africa: Collaboration or Colonialism?

·         MODERATOR: Tijan Sallah, Senior Economist, The World Bank

·         Richard Dowden, Director, Royal African Society of London

·         Matt Wells, Researcher, Human Rights Watch

·         Muna B. Ndulo, Professor of Law, Director of Institute for African Development, Cornell University

·         Brent Huffman, Assistant Professor, Medill School of Journalism Northwestern University

·         Tony Gambino, Consultant and Former Mission Director, USAID Congo

·         Xiaohon He, Professor of International Business, Quinnipiac University

                   

12:30 pm – 1:15 pm

Keynote Address

David Shinn, Former United States Ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm 

Zimbabwe: Prospects for a Stable Democracy or Dictatorship?

·      MODERATOR: Corey D. B. Walker, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Africana Studies, Brown University

·      Alex Vines, Research Director, Royal Institute of International Affairs; Chair of Africa Program, Chatham House

·      Blair Rutherford, Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University  

·      John Campbell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Senior Fellow for African Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

·      Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Harvard University; President, World Peace Foundation 

·      Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Ambassador of Zimbabwe to the United Nations

·      C. E. Onukaogu, Resident Commissioner, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Anambra State, Nigeria

·      Vivian Nkechinyere Enomoh, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Anambra State, Nigeria

3:15 pm – 5:15 pm

Literature: The Spoken Word

MODERATOR: Alastair Niven, Principal, Cumberland Lodge

Chinua Achebe

Sonia Sanchez

Jayne Cortez

Yusef Komunyakaa

Obiora Udechukwu

 Bassey Ikpi

-------------------------

RELATED TOPIC 

2011 Achebe Colloquium To Explore Arab Spring, Zimbabwean And Darfur Crises